Hay-hutch does anyone have one?

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sare_bear

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Hi.

I am looking at getting one of these although hugely expensive! I am currently putting hay on the ground for my horses, but also have sheep in the field (not mine), that raid the hay. I dont mind this too much, but they then poo all over and so my horses there after wont touch it, hence lots of waste.
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I wanted peoples experiences who happen to have one. I assume the holes are not big enough to get there heads stuck. Also is the plastic rough round the edges of the openings. ie could they get cut if they got caught on it.
The other thing is, in the photo it looks like they are really twisting their heads to eat from it, is this the case?

Any other suggestions welcome, but like the fact it is covered from the rain and saves hay being trappled into the field. Also is there enough room for 3 horses to feed from the large one, as my youngster gets bullied a bit by the other 2.

Sorry loads of qu.s, just wanted to know as much as poss before ordering one.
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Thanks.
 
If you live somewhere very windy then it's not worth it - I had one and it constantly blew away (even with a block in the bottom of it)

However, that aside, they are very good and if it wasn't for the fact that my Dad now grows strawberries out of mine I would have offered to send it to you
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I would also be sure you don't have a horse smart enough to take the lid off aswell, I think in theory they are a great idea though.
 
I saw those while browsing the web earlier, they do look quite good but I like the look of the hay bars better so have ordered my 2 one each!
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So im hoping they get on with them as they're not exactly cheap!
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I got one each for my three, they're great if your horses are out in a flat field, on a hill they roll down quite easy! Ditto the comment about the wind too...

I defo haven't had as much haylage wasted by putting it in my hayhutches, they are robust and even my HW cob who damages everything hasn't managed to break his yet even by itching his legs on it but I haven't had it a year so there's still time .....

Getting the lid on and off in the dark is quite tricky until you get used to it and if you don't put it on properly it will come off quite easy.

The Customer Service from them is brilliant, very friendly and very helpful as the carrier lost the bottoms to them and the situation was sorted very quickly and replacement sent out speedily.

All in all I guess I would buy again simply because of the less wastage but it is annoying having to go to the bottom of the field to retrieve in the wind but if they were any heavier I'd moan about how hard they were to move so no win situation really!
 
Yes, I have two of the medium sized ones, a lovely surprise Xmas present from my OH.

I think they are great, a lot less waste, I feed a fair bit of hay as I have 4 ponies living out 24/7 on well eaten down grazing.

My 'naughty' pony managed to roll it and get the lid off a couple of times when I first had it but I've put some stones in the bottom and he has given up getting the top off - I think he realises he can eat from the holes now
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I don't know if a big horse might do more damage? However, my Shetlands have managed to chew the sign off
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Mine are on a fairly windy hillside and they have slid down in the mud a couple of times but no real problems. They do twist their head slightly to eat but they seem to pull a bit out and then eat it but not enough to cause a mess. Never had a problem with them getting their head stuck and the edges are not sharp.

I would recommend them
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Thanks for all the comments.

We are on a hill and do seem to be pretty windy, but was thinking of putting some bricks in the bottom to weight it down.

I have one 16.2 irish horse that is a bit of a comedian. Sticks his nose into everything, and loves to pick everything up in his mouth and toss it around. He would be my main concern of getting the lid off or itching on it and sending it flying!!

Think I will prob take the risk unless anyone knows of anything else that may be more robust?
 
I've got two of the medium sized ones. My feelings are mixed on them. I stopped putting the lids on because my lot pulled all the haylage out of the side holes onto the ground and ate it from ground, but also resulting in lots being trampled in and wasted. Since leaving the lids off this problem seems to have stopped - they always eat from the top, never the side holes now. So I assume eating from the side holes is less comfortable (or maybe just more effort).

I haven't had any problems with them blowing away and my field is at 600 feet above sea level on the side of a fell. One of my horses has learned to tip them over when they're empty - I've watched him do it.

They are well made and have survived two cold winters so far without any damage but I do think they are expensive, so I;ve started making my own. My first design which went in the field last night is a hay bin. Take one plastic dustbin, screw to a reasonably heavy round piece of wood about two cms thick - diameter about twice as wide as the base of the dustbin for stability. Drill a few small holes in the base of the dustbin and through the wood base to allow water to drain out. It was very wind when I put it out last night so I weighted the base down with two flat rocks. It was still standing where I'd left it this morning, so it was a success, though you can't fit as much haylage into the dustbin as you can into a hay hutch. But total cost came to £5.50 for the dustbin. The wood was some we had laying about spare. About £130 cheaper than a hay hutch! To improve the design I might find a bigger dustbin. You could also fasten the dustbin lid in place with strong clips and cuts holes in the side to mimic a hay hutch if you prefer side feeding.

However my next project will be a hay tree. Take one standard fence post, screw a closed hook or tie ring to it. Take one old car tyre, tape a black pastic bag to the bottom, put a few rock into the centre hole to wedge the post in place in the middle, then fill the gaps with concrete. Wait to set then roll into the field and clip a small mesh haynet to it. Car tyre base with concrete and rocks needs to be heavy enough not to be pulled over by the weight on the net. I got the idea from here:

http://paddockparadise.wetpaint.com/page/Hay+Tree

If you click on some of the links on this site there are loads of ideas for hay feeders that people have tried.

http://paddockparadise.wetpaint.com/page/Slow+Feeders
 
I got a large one last winter and think it's great. The wastage is reduced to almost nothing, there's no fighting, nobody's been injured , and only one of my 3 has learned how to get the lid off... I weight mine with an old supplement tub containing a breeze block. They're very robust, and the edges aren't sharp.

As for head twisting, I don't think it's any worse than tugging from a haynet, and the horses tend to change direction every now and again so their heads are turned to the other side.
 
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